Godless Masses
by SquirrellyThief
Summary: A "worry-stricken" James returns to Silent Hill to find Laura, only to discover that she has no intent of leaving. Gradually, he becomes swept up in the dogma that threatens to bring Hell to all it touches. R&R. M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Oh dear. The dreaded SH fic.

All characters that look like they belong to Konami do.

All characters that don't belong to me. (the minor ones that are only there to advance the plot…yeah.)

The 'Leave' (SH2) and 'Possessed' (SH3) endings are canon for this fic.

**Chapter one**

"_Kzzzzh… Kzzzh"_

Laura woke slowly. Her room was still dark, so it must've been really late… Why was she up?

"_Kzzzh…"_

Huh? Radio?

"_Laura…Kzzzzh…"_

What the? Laura's feet brushed the carpet. She glanced around. Nothing abnormal was in her room… who..?

"_Kzzzzhhh…"_

The radio. She left her room and wandered down the hallway. Laura wasn't entirely sure where James kept the ratty old thing; only that he kept it somewhere in the house.

Living room? No. Kitchen? Under the sink? Nothing. Laundry room? Zip. Hall closet? She paused. Behind the coats, even in the dull moonlight from the windows, Laura could see the black case hidden in the back. She reached and touched it; James had kept the Knife… Why? Laura would probably never know, but it was there, in the closet and out of sight.

Still no radio.

"_Kzzzh"_

All that left was the master bedroom, but James was such a light sleeper, why hadn't he freaked out yet?

Static had that effect on him. Even in the car if static ever played on the radio he'd have a white knuckled grip on the wheel and a paranoid look in his eye until it was over.

The door opened with a light creak. Laura could see the little light on the radio from the door.

"_Kzzzh"_

Laura walked in and snatched the little hunk of plastic with barely a whisper of noise. In the living room, she sat in a plush chair and stared at the radio.

"_Kzzzzh…Kzzzzh…"_

The static grew in volume in seconds.

"_Kzzzh…Kzzzh! Kzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…."_

Someone touched her shoulder.

Laura didn't flinch; she slowly turned her head and asked, "I have to, don't I?"

The thing behind her nodded.

Laura turned off the radio, "So soon? I'm so…unprepared. So young. I don't know if I can handle…" She took a deep steadying breath and lowered her voice, "I have no choice…"

It nodded again.

"At least let me tell James I'm leav-" She tried to rise from her chair, but she was restrained.

It stepped around the chair to stand in front of Laura and shook its head.

Laura cast a pleading, pitiful look that had no effect. It tossed a duffle bag at her feet and pointed down the hall.

Only what she needed.

Laura rose and packed her things quickly and quietly. On her way back, she paused at James's room. The hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away. They paused at the hall closet long enough for it to fetch the Knife.

Laura bent to pick up the radio, but was stopped by a forceful grip on her wrist. There was a strange pause.

"Yes…I understand," Laura pulled away, but the grip on her wrist tightened. "Yes, I understand… Master Valtiel."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--

James woke up before his alarm clock and had a strange feeling of distress all the way to the kitchen. He poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter trying to shake off that feeling. Thirty more minutes and he called for Laura to get up. When she didn't answer, he shrugged and went to knock on her door.

It was open slightly.

In the five and a half years Laura had lived with him, James couldn't remember one time the girl had left her door open even a smidge. He pushed it the rest of the way, and she was gone.

Laura was missing… No.. She'd just gone to school early.

She did that sometimes just to scare him. James shrugged it off.

He found the radio on the coffee table, another pang of anxiety, but again, James chocked it up to Laura just trying to freak him out. It wasn't going to work this time.

The day continued as normal… only, Laura didn't come home.

He asked around, no one had really seen her, but she would turn up. Right?

The night dragged on, still nothing. Maybe she'd just forgotten to check in? She was alrgith.

Day two, no sign. Okay, what the fuck?

He asked around again, 'Have you seen Laura?' 'Is Laura with you?'

No. And no.

He called the police.

Day three, no word from anyone. James paced across his living room, "Okay Laura," he said to the empty room, "you got me."

His phone rang. James answered it with some trepidation. What if she was dead?

"Mr. Sunderland?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't believe your daughter's in town…"

"She's n-" he paused. He'd almost said 'she's not my daughter' to the cop. That would've blown over well… "Okay, Thank you."

"You don't sound worried…"

"I'm not." James hung up.

The strange thing about it was, he wasn't worried. At least, not the way a parent should be. No. He wasn't a parent… Laura wasn't his. James sat down.

He was nervous, mildly concerned for her safety, and whatnot. But he wasn't fretting. Should he be fretting?

James felt strange at the revelation:

He should be.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Months passed. Laura was officially outside of the tri-county area.

She could be anywhere in the country at this point… and a part of James wasn't bothered at all.

He couldn't get over that disturbingly numb feeling that washed over his brain whenever he thought about her.

James got the same feeling whenever he thought about Mary… whoa, where did that come from? He had thought of Mary for years.

Ever since Laura had started becoming even more of a nuisance than she already was James's thoughts didn't wander very much. Once she was old enough to have friends that could drive her hither and yon, Laura would always ponder new ways to make James worry, or scare him just because she could.

It was strangely quiet and peaceful with her gone…

James shook the thought from his head. He had to find Laura.

Why?

Again James shook his head.

Maybe he should get out of the house… James rose from the plush chair he'd been musing in and went to the hall closet to get his coat. The calendar nailed to the door said it was Laura's fourteenth birthday, and again the numbness set in.

That feeling was starting to bother him.

James fetched his coat and noted something was amiss.

The Knife…

James dug through the closet, thinking it had only fallen. It wasn't in there.

Several emotions welled up in his chest. Rage, fear, concern, but none of them were given a voice. Numbness settled back in.

He walked slowly to his bedroom and took the little radio out from the nightstand drawer. "Where is she?" he asked it, as though it could answer him.

"_Kzzzh"_

James blinked a few times. "Tell me!" he shouted at it, "Is she…" No, no! She couldn't have gone back to…

"_Kzzzh_"

"Is Laura in Silent Hill?!"

"_Kzzzzhhh"_

That was when James realized he was talking to a radio.

So Laura and the monster-knife were both gone now. Well, at least she was armed.

Right?

No.

"Is she in Silent Hill?"

A voice crackled its way through the radio static "_Congratulations!! Kzzzh Ricky, tell him what he's won!_"

James stared at the hunk of plastic for a moment.

In less than an hour James had loaded up his truck with what he thought would be the necessary supplies

Then he was on a second, reluctant trip to Silent Hill.

James wasn't entirely sure what he expected to find there.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

End chapter 1

Okay, this is so much better. I re-read the original after getting a review saying it was sketchy and realized that I would HAVE to re-write this before I posted anymore chapters.

It was crap. This is slightly less so.

So yeah, _Wilhelmina _is consuming my imagination, but hopefully I can get one more chapter posted so those who have already read this know that it has been fixed.

Review as you see fit.


	2. Chapter 2

I REWROTE CHAPTER ONE for those of you who care… it should be less… well, bad now.

Chapter2-man AWAY!

**Chapter Two**

It was a long drive to Silent Hill. The radio kept acting up just to annoy him.

Mostly game shows and ads. Just outside of the city limits, the random snippets became the white noise James remembered.

It had been so long since he'd been here.

The wall was gone, that was a plus. At least he could drive down Nathan Avenue instead of having to run the entire distance with monsters nipping at his heels.

His engine died.

"Oh, fuck no."

A laugh track played on the radio.

"Fuck you too."

James gathered his things and left his truck in the street. Who would take it? Honestly?

He spread out the map on the hood and circled all the places he'd found Laura before.

The Apartment buildings, The Hospital.

Where to first?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Blue Creek and Woodside Apartment buildings were both inaccessible. James had gone so far as trying to break down some of the doors, only to discover that there were large chunks of wood and other materials blocking the way.

James made his way back up and over the chain-link fence and on to the street. His radio was strangely quiet. Was it off? Dead?

Neither.

He stopped and looked around. Where were the monsters? The bloodstains in the street? The giant cockroaches? James felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something horrible was about to happen. He knew it.

The fog was so thick he couldn't see more than three feet in front of him, well, there was something consistent.

James remained cautious on his way to Brookhaven hospital; something was ready to spring out of somewhere and bite his face clean off.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

No such luck.

The worst he got was a static shock from the door handle. Once inside, James surveyed his surroundings.

It all looked exactly as he'd left it five years ago. Still abandoned, still dusty, still scary as hell.

No crazy monster nurses, though.

"What the hell?"

James tried to open a few familiar doors in the entrance hall, most were jammed. The receptionist's office was open, though. He perused through the catalogs and files on the desk, when something caught his eye.

At the bottom of the pile was a note. It was bloodstained and crumpled, but the red letters were unmistakably Laura's.

'_Gideon,_

_In Master Wolf's "room" on second floor. I'll reset the gates for you. Meet us there_.'

"Master Wolf?" James pocketed the note and sifted through the files again. No one by the name of Wolf was listed. He'd have to look elsewhere.

James assumed that all the doors on the east wall that had been locked last time were still locked this time. He was surprised to find out that wasn't true. He stumbled into the Directors' office and slammed into a desk that had been moved to the center of the room.

"Jesus…" Once he recovered his wits, he dug through the desk, "Wolf… Wolf…"

Nothing.

Now that one of the once-locked doors was open… maybe they all were. James decided to check them _all_. Only the reception room, doctor's office and visiting room were open.

The visiting room gave James the information he needed. Wolf, Leonard S12. But the 'S' rooms were on the third floor…

He'd go anyway and see what he could find there… if he could leave.

The door had shut behind him and jammed itself shut. James tried desperately to get it open, even slamming his shoulder into it. The wood gave a bit, but the door didn't budge. James began to panic.

He scoured the room for another way out. When his back turned, a cold chill ran up his neck.

James jumped, lost his balance, and fell down on his backside. He got to his feet, flashlight gripped tightly in his hand, and shined a light on the offending area. The door was open.

"Oh…"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Getting to the third floor was still a convoluted system of stairs, doors, locked doors, abandoned gurneys and…sounds.

The noises were what really got to him. A pained moan on the other side of a door he was passing. A scream down the hall. Footsteps right behind him. At one point James could've sworn someone whispered something vaguely sexual in his ear. The only thing he didn't hear was static.

"I know they're here…" he whispered, "I know it, come out you bastards."

Nothing came.

S12. This was his room. James knocked quietly.

"Yes?" said a voice on the other side. It was raspy and pained sounding. "Who's there?"

James tried to open the door but it was locked. "I'm looking for… my daughter, perhaps you've seen her—"

There was a loud thud on the other side of the door followed by the sound of heavy equipment being moved. By the time it ended, James could hear the faint sound of an EKG beeping and the raspy voice was a bit louder, "Oh? Not many people come around the third floor anymore."

"Are you sure you haven't seen anyone? At all?"

The voice's laugh turned to a hacking cough, "Maybe I have, I can't really remember."

"Her name is Laura. She's kind of short, blonde hair, blue eyes. Turned fourteen a couple of days ago—"

"Yes, I think she has been up here a few times with him."

"Him?"

Again the voice laughed, "Outsider," he paused for a moment, "If you really want the girl, you'll have to take her."

"What?"

"You heard me." There was a light rapping on the door.

"Just tell me where she is, Leonard."

There was silence on the other side for several moments. "Oh, I'm not Leonard. Leonard died a couple of years ago. Pretty little thing gunned him down in the basement. I say he deserved it after all those things he did. Hmph."

"Then who are you?"

"Call me Douglas."

James blinked a few times, "Well, Douglas, tell me where Laura is, please."

"Why are you so interested? What is she to you?"

"She's my… daughter." James replied.

Douglas sounded unmoved, "No, she isn't. You hesitated."

"She's my wife's adopted daughter." James had a little more conviction in his voice.

Douglas made an odd noise, "Is your wife with you?" he asked.

"No… she's dead…"

"Pity." Douglas sounded farther away now, "Well, if you must know you can find your girl in room M7… if she's in the hospital at all, that is."

"M7? But, Douglas there—"

The sound of a flat-line told James that Douglas wasn't going to answer any more questions.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Back to the second floor. He'd just passed through here, but there was something different about the place. The doors seemed rustier. The smell a little more acrid.

M6… the hall ended.

"There is no M7."

_Kzzzhh…_

James whirled around, gun ready.

Nothing.

_Kzz……zzzh_

James turned back around and studied the wall. Nothing…nothing…wait.

There was a door handle on the wall. Next to it, a regular combination lock. James twisted it, it clicked, but nothing happened.

There was a note under it.

"_Left and Right_

_Split and Dive_

_Down and Up_

_Count and Fly_

_Black to White_

_Run and Flee_

_Tickoty Tickoty Tock!_

_Your time is running out."_

James snorted, "Fuckin' puzzles… Who puts these here anyway?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

End Chapter 2

This has been sitting in my doc. manager for a while now. I thought I'd post it.

So yeah… updated. Hurray? Maybe? *Too busy working on other stuff to update other stories.*

Review as you see fit…


	3. Chapter 3

Woah

Third chapter.

Characters mentioned here are still copyright Konami.

**Chapter Three**

"Sixty-five, seventy-two, thirteen,"

_Clunk!_

"Oh thank, God," James breathed as he twisted the door handle, "That took me, what? Two hours?"

The door made a shrill gating sound as he pulled it open. It was heavy and nearly six inches thick, beyond the door was a long hallway.

"Great."

James made his way down the hall. It wasn't marked anywhere on his map, nor had he expected it to be. He'd just have to wing it. The hall turned sharply a few times before his path was hindered by a rusted iron gate.

He paused, and the gate opened.

"Who makes this stuff?!?"

Several gates and two doors later, James thought he'd reached the end of the ridiculous twisting corridor.

He opened the last door.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Laura sat in her little cubby-hole, filing her nails. She'd broken one pretty badly climbing in here, but she was safe from prying eyes now.

The gates closed in the hall below, Laura looked up. The door shut and the chain-link floor clinked under the feet of her visitor.

She grabbed the ladder for support and peered into the hall below.

"Laura?"

"Oh shit."

The leather covered carousel horse behind her twitched excitedly.

"No, no…" she shook her head, and shouted, "James?! What the fuck are you doing here?!"

James scowled up at her, even though she couldn't see him. "Watch it, missy. I should be asking you that question! What on earth possessed—"

"No no no." Laura swung herself out of the cubby and on to the ladder, "I'm going to be in so much trouble. You're not supposed to be here." She began to ascend.

"Not supposed to be here?' What does that mean? Laura? Hey!" he climbed after her.

The door James had come through banged loudly. Something shrieked overhead.

"Shit!"

"Laura!"

She continued to climb; James couldn't catch up with her. The door burst open.

"Gideon!" Laura called out, "I have to apologize, but—" A pair of rusty knives clinked and dented the ladder rung above her, "meep." She clambered up even faster.

"Wha-" James turned his head and looked down.

It blended in so well with the wall James couldn't see it at first. Then it moved. It was man-shaped, its head covered in barbed wire, its body wrapped tightly in bandages.

It shrieked again and lifted its arm; it held two more knives.

He was near the top now, maybe James could make it over the edge before the monster had a chance to throw them.

James realized that luck wasn't on his side when he heard only one clink below him. A sharp, white, burning erupted in his leg, just below the back of his knee. His other leg slipped off the dented rung. He dangled by his arms praying not to die like this. Not here.

Something grabbed his sleeve and gave a rough tug, Laura held on to him as James regained his footing.

"Hurry, it only takes him a few seconds to get his knives."

James made it over the edge just before the knives hit the ladder.

Laura tugged his sleeve again, "Run." She hissed and half-guided, half-pulled James out of the only other door in the room. He just managed to catch a glimpse of the thing pulling itself up the ladder with freakish velocity.

They were back in the second-floor hallway. The walls dripped and the floor creaked unsettlingly.

The door banged behind them.

"This way!" Laura pulled James down the hall.

Nurses made their appearances and James felt like he was truly back in Silent Hill. They raised their pipes to attack.

"Turn off your flashlight."

James complied; the nurses stopped and milled about stupidly.

Laura shut the door to the stairwell just when the hall door slammed open. "Up," she growled, "hurry!"

James's leg burned horribly, everything below the wound was numb. He whimpered, but tried to keep up.

They got to the roof, James's vision was blurred with tears and he felt light-headed. He was led to another door; Laura fumbled with a ring of keys.

The control room door swung inward with a clang, and Laura threw James inside, she shut and locked the door, knowing he'd lost consciousness.

She whirled around and headed back downstairs to confront Gideon.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

James woke slowly. He groaned and tried to shake the fogginess from his brain. What had woken him? Where was he?

A sharp pinch in the back of his leg and he twitched.

"Hold still," Laura's voice, "it's not gonna come out on its own."

Another pinch. James heard the sound of a bottle opening; he closed his eyes and held his breath. He'd expected the burn, but once it passed all he was left with was a dull ache.

"How long was I out?"

"Fifteen minutes," she replied, "maybe twenty, I don't know."

James opened his eyes fully and glared at Laura. She was wrapping gauze around his leg with surprising efficiency. She taped off the bandage and moved toward the door. When she opened it, the wind whipped in the sound of heavy, wet footsteps, groaning, and cries of pain.

"What are you doing here?" Laura asked him. "Why have you done this?"

"What!?" James sat up and his wounded leg cramped in displeasure, "Laura, I came here looking for you!"

Laura whirled around and let the door shut. Only a few months had passed and yet she still looked so different. Her hair was wild and frizzed, marked with a few small, tame-looking braids, her eyes ringed in darkness but still wide and alert. She was thinner and more compact.

Her clothes struck James as odd. She wore a snugly-fit bullet proof vest over a short skirted flesh toned... apron? Dress? He wasn't sure. Her pale leggings were ripped at the knees and other places; her black shin-high boots were scuffed and specked with blood. She was wearing a brown-ish grey belt littered with pouches and pockets; she pulled a bottle out of one of the pouches and tossed it at James.

A health drink.

A blood red hooded shawl covered her shoulders, white gloves adorned her hands. Only when she turned to face him could James see the tiny silver pendant that hung just below the hem of her shawl.

"That's the necklace you got in trouble for at school," He commented between swigs of the drink. It was bitter and left a film in his mouth, but at least he felt better.

Laura paused. "Yeah…" she said cautiously, "It is."

She picked up a dark, rusted, nasty-looking spear from its place against the control panel. It dripped with fresh blood. "Can you stand?" she asked.

James pulled himself to his feet. His leg throbbed, but he could walk on it. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Let's hope you don't get tetanus."

James arched an eyebrow, "I've had all my shots," he laughed.

"Let's hope you don't get tetanus," Laura repeated, seriously.

He shifted uncomfortably and followed her out, on to the roof.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Once they were back on the first floor Laura told James he could turn his flashlight back on, when he didn't she pulled a pin-light out from one of her many pouches and clicked it on.

She pointed the light at the entrance. "Leave," she growled, "You've caused enough damage."

"I'm not leaving without you."

Laura and James stared at each other.

"I'm not leaving. Period." She turned and began walking away.

James grabbed her arm, "You can't be serious." He turned her to face him, "What is wrong with you?"

"I made a… pact. A commitment." She growled back tearing her arm away. Her spear clanked loudly against the floor as she did so, "I'm needed, and I intend to do what I can. When they say I can leave, I'll come home. But until then I'm not going anywhere."

"Who are they?"

"None of your business, Outsider." She gestured to the door. "Leave."

"What?"

Laura moved to the door as if to open it. She pushed down on the handle and it clunked loudly. "Shit."

James watched her.

"You'll have to find another way out," she said, "follow me."

He did.

"What is this commitment?" he asked as they scoured the second floor for keys, "who are these people you work for?"

"I'm higher up than you think," she replied from the next room over, "a good portion of them work for me."

They met up in the hall.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Laura shrugged, "I don't care."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The walls got grimier, the floors creaked louder, the smell of rusted, heated metal and death made James's eyes water. Crying and other pained sounds could be heard on the opposite side of any given door. The windows all showed the darkness of night. A siren sounded in the distance.

Moments later nurses flooded the halls and most of the empty rooms.

Laura proved to be very proficient with her spear. Taking out an entire hall's worth of nurses in only a few moments. Sometimes impaling two at a time.

"Damn."

Laura glared at him, and James knew better than to say any more while she still held a weapon in her hands.

"It's alternate," Laura said once they were 'safe' and after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, "we need to hurry or we'll be killed."

"Where to?" James was more than willing to follow; obviously Laura had more keys and knew the hospital better than he did.

"We'll cut through the day room and get to the elevator; hopefully we'll find something in the basement."

James nodded and they left the safety of recovery room S7.

"Hurry," She pushed him ahead, "you know where it is."

The doors were rusted shut. It took James a few tries to get it open. The chain links bowed beneath his feet when he entered and he felt as though he might fall through the floor. Laura shut the door behind them.

"Move," she pushed his shoulder.

A deafeningly loud grating sound filled the room. James went to cover his ears, but Laura pushed him. "Go!"

They both broke into a run. The gaping hole in the middle of the floor looking more and more ominous with each step.

The floor quaked beneath their feet sending them off balance. It worsened the closer they got to the door.

Laura knew that it only took eight seconds to cross the room at a run. They were only given five.

The floor gave one final quake and both humans tumbled to the floor. A heavy iron gate came down between them. Not only separating James from Laura, but Laura from her spear.

The amorphous blob of pulsating human flesh that attacked her was slow enough that Laura had time to move out of the way. Its arms were lined with large, flat teeth and ended in taloned hands, its face a mess of bubbling pus and other fluids. It had the short, bent hind-legs of a dog. It was bloated and lopsided, and stumbled as it ran after her.

Laura bolted for the door.

It was jammed.

The monster made a high keening noise, like the sound of an infant in pain, and made a swipe at her. She pressed herself against the wall to avoid the blow, and ran back for the gate.

James tried to feed her spear through a hole in the grating as carefully as he could, blunt end first.

Unable to stop her momentum, Laura slammed into the gate, narrowly missing the weapon. She gripped it and ripped it the rest of the way out, its serrated edge cutting a deep, gushing gash into James's hand.

James could only watch in horror, clutching his bleeding hand, as Laura squared off with the monster.

"Don't die!"

She smiled at him.

It pounced at her. Laura stepped to one side and out of range; she jammed her spear into the flesh-jelly of its torso while it was down. It writhed for a moment and swiped at her face. Laura leaned back to avoid it, but it was bigger than she was, with longer arms. She dislodged her spear, lost her balance, and fell with the attempt to dodge. The back of her head slammed against the edge of the pit.

The monster stood and stalked over to her as though it hadn't been injured at all.

James rattled the cage and shouted to get its attention. He even drew his gun and shot at the thing a few times; the kickback sending his wounded hand into spasms. It didn't even notice.

"Laura!"

She raised her spear in defense once her wits returned. The thing was nearly on top of her now, its facial oozings dripping on to her forehead and cheeks. It keened again and gripped her spear.

It used its weight against her. It was too heavy for her to throw it off. The longer they grappled, the more her arms gave out and the closer it got to her face.

James shook the gate desperately with his only functional hand. "Laura!" He shined his flashlight at the monster.

Nothing got the monster's attention.

"Oh no…"

It keened again and showed its fangs. Laura's eyes widened in horror.

"Help!" she screamed in its face, caving into her fear, "Somebody help!"

James was stuck struggling with the gate, one hand limp at his side, listening to her scream.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

End chapter three.

ya know what? I think I'll end it here.

I'll get started on chapter four soon.

Heh heh heh.


	4. Chapter 4

Forgive my errors and typos.

(sad face)

**Chapter Four**

Laura's short life passed before her eyes. She screamed in the face of her attacker, tossed and shook about trying to dislodge it. It oozed pus on her face.

She trembled. In the back of her mind she could hear James calling for her. She heard him shout and bang on the gate. It was useless, the thing couldn't hear; it focused on heat. She knew the moment it attacked her that sound would do nothing, but James wasn't as monster-savvy as she was.

Laura also knew that she was warmer than James.

It made its loud, ear splitting cry again and Laura knew it would bite her. Maybe not kill her, maybe even give her enough time to get up and fight, but the infection that no doubt would follow would kill. Especially if it bit her face.

The cry wavered, rattled and stopped. The monster fell over onto its side; its foreleg and shoulder dripping red-black water-like fluids. Her spear was tossed through the air and clattered to the floor on the opposite side; mere seconds from her reach.

Laura gasped and tried to seize the opportunity. She scrambled to get away from the pit and to her weapon when a heavy boot crushed her shoulder to the floor.

"Hol—"

A swing of the Knife silenced her. The monster at her side shrieked and thrashed against the heavy blade. The booted foot left her shoulder and stalked over to the creature. A sift kick and the thing rattled, sputtered and died. The Knife was stuck into the carcass.

Her savior forsook his weapon for a moment and retrieved Laura's spear from where it had landed, stopping long enough to stare James down.

This wasn't going to end well.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

James stared at the new arrival from his side of the gate. It was male and looked familiar in a vaguely nightmarish sort of way. When he saw the practiced ease the creature had in swinging the Great Knife, James knew.

He/It approached the gate and squared off with James who felt very, very small.

He was the pyramid monster. James was positive. Even without the gore-encrusted helmet, and with the slight hunch, James could recognize him. The creature's head twitched violently from side to side at random intervals as the stare intensified. When he had had enough of the staring contest, the creature turned to face Laura who recoiled in terror.

All James could do was look on.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Your Holiness," Laura was sitting on her knees a few feet from the edge of the pit, she stared at the floor, "I-I-I apologize for my cowardice and—"

The boots stopped just within her line of sight. Laura looked up at him. He casually tossed the blunt end of Laura's spear in the air like a baseball bat.

"Master Valtiel, I never meant—I had no idea that it was—" Laura was at a loss for words or explanations. She stuttered stupidly for several moments before saying a simple, "Forgive me, your Holiness," and bowing her head. She stared at the floor and awaited punishment.

Moments passed in the soft static. The tension thickened.

Valtiel stomped on the floor to indicate he'd had enough of the silence. Or that he was sick of being there, Laura couldn't tell. She opened her mouth to apologize onbe more, but was silenced by another stomp. She looked up and the blunt end of her own spear collided harshly with the left side of her face. Laura felt it swell and throb, blood filled her mouth where she'd bitten her cheek.

Her spear clanged to the floor in front of her. Laura spat blood and struggled to sit up. The throbbing in her face didn't help with the vertigo. A grinding metal sound was somewhere in the room. When she sat, her head lolled in circles and her eyelids drooped.

"Laura!"

Valtiel was gone.

James sat on the floor in front of her, "My God, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

She blinked and tried to shake the fogginess away, Laura only succeeded in making her head pain worse. "James?"

James held her face in his hands and kept her steady.

"You're bleeding," she said, "There's some more gauze in my belt. Use it sparingly." She opened a pouch on the left side of her belt, but her arm lost strength halfway through and dropped to her side. "I'll be alright, just give me a minute."

James took the gauze and wrapped his hand. The wound wasn't as deep as he thought it was, but he still knew that he'd need stitches.

Laura came around quickly and oriented herself to the current reality. "Brookhaven's normal now," she stood, shaky at first but she stabilized, "you should be able to leave now."

James handed her what was left of the gauze roll, she put it away. "You're still not going to leave?" he asked.

Laura bent, stumbled, and picked up her spear, "No."

James was about to give up… then the 'dead' monster on the floor gave a slight twitch and he started his argument anew, "That-that-that thing just tried to _eat_ your face. The other one tried to smash your face in with your spear!"

"He also saved my life," Laura replied. Her speech was slurred slightly. She tilted her head curiously.

"Coincidence," James crossed his arms.

Laura didn't respond for some time. She had a puzzled look on her face. After a few seconds, she brought a hand to her face, reached into the left side of her mouth, and pulled out a tooth. It was bloodied and cracked. Laura dropped it on the floor and pulled out another. "Ah de—" she spat out a mouthful of blood, "I deserved it."

"Oh, you can't be serious."

She tested her legs by taking a few steps toward the exit that had been denied to her minuets ago. Laura couldn't walk a straight line on her own, but with the help of the pole-arm, she could manage.

"Laura…" he had that scolding father's tone.

"Being a Red Priest means being able to handle yourself," she made her way to the door, "in any situation that involves the creatures." Laura leaned heavily against the door, the world still hadn't stopped spinning, "I called for help, and I was punished for being dependent."

James didn't know what to say.

"Let's go," she opened the door.

"This is asinine," James crossed the room in a few strides, "I'm taking you home, young lady."

"I'm not going," the red blotch on her cheek was spreading around the point of impact, "I can't."

He grabbed her arm, "It wasn't a question."

"Fine. Take me back," Laura tore her arm away and tottered a bit, "I won't stay."

"I'll lock you in," he threatened, "send you to a boarding school, have you committed, or something."

"You can't make me stay," she growled, "someone... or something, will come to get me." James opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off, "How do you think I got the knife all the way here? I had to carry supplies, I'm sure you noticed that my stuff was missing."

He had.

"I won't stay." she repeated.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They were on the street before the silence was broken, "I think Brahms still has power, you can probably get a ride home there," Laura explained. "There is a bus that cuts through, it only goes to Ashfield and it only runs per day, but it should do."

James walked with her all the way to Nathan Avenue. His radio spat static at him. "Are you sure you're not coming?"

"Positive." Laura pointed down the road with her spear, "Follow the road all the way, past the Amusement park and the elementary school, and out of town. Go north at the intersection… a left I think. If you don't stray to far from the road someone'll see you." She smiled weakly at him, "James, go. Go and don't come back, you done your time here. Don't make things worse."

She started to walk away.

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Ugh you stubborn son of a-"

"Laura," James touched her shoulder, "look at me." The bruise on her face was starting to darken, "When I came here, when I saw that letter Mary wrote to you…" he trailed off, "I made a promise to my wife. I made a promise to you. I can't leave you here."

"You're not my father, James." She hissed, "Stop trying to act like it." Laura took a few steps away from him, "I don't like you. You don't like me. This is for the best."

"You are a fourteen year old girl in a town full of bloodthirsty monsters," he felt like he was losing his mind, "I cannot, in good conscience, leave you here."

"Conscience!? Since when have you had a conscience?" Her eye, which was now partially encircled by the bruise, twitched.

"Laura—"

"Don't lecture me." Laura turned to walk away.

James stood in her path, "I'm not leaving without you. If you won't go, then I'll stay. I'll help your cause… or something."

"Help…my…cause?" Laura laughed, "hah, you have to be joking! What makes you think you're cut out to be a member of the Church?"

"Church?"

"Yeah. Church," she snorted, "you don't know anything about us. The priests will just laugh at you."

"Oh really?"

Laura conceded, "Okay, okay, fine, if you get these questions right I'll take you to the hideout."

James didn't like where this was going.

"What are the Sacraments, and how many are there?"

"Uh…"

Laura scoffed, "Okay, What is the Red Devil's real name?"

James was silent.

"What color is not permitted to be used to depict the holy symbol?"

James raised his hands, "Okay, fine, you win!" he shook his head, "I don't know anything about this 'religion' you seem to follow, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not going to leave a teenage girl, alone, in Silent Hill."

"I'm not alone," she said.

"If asking for your life gets you beaten, I don't want to see what teamwork looks like."

Laura narrowed her eyes. They stood in tense quasi-silence for some time.

"Where to now?"

Laura snarled, "I don't know where you're going, but I'm not going with."

"Laura!"

"No, NO!" she shouted stomping her foot against the pavement, "I'm already in enough trouble because of you! It took me ten minutes to pacify Gideon enough so he wouldn't want to KILL me 'cause YOU shut the gates on him. Master Valtiel is pissed at me for calling for help because I had to get YOU out of Brookhaven! God knows how the other priests are going to react if I bring an OUTSIDER into their midst." She turned away, "You can stay as long as you want, but stay the fuck away from me."

"Other priests?" James arched an eyebrow, "There are other people?"

"Some are people like us, yes." Laura shrugged, "Others are like Gideon, or the High Execution—" she paused, "Oh yeah, no, they're going to hate you."

"What?" James didn't like being confused.

"You killed the High Executioners and took the holy sword," she said over her shoulder, "that is NOT going to sit well with them."

"Holy sword?" James stopped her, "You know what? I don't want to know. How about, you take me to these 'others', I plead my case, and we go from there."

Laura sighed heavily, "They. Hate. You."

"I won't ask questions, I'll do whatever they ask me to."

She grinned, "So if someone said 'shoot yourself in the face,' would you?"

"Anyone but you."

She snapped her fingers, "Damn," she cursed, "Fine. I'll take you to the carousel and talk to some people, if they think you're worthy of being their bitch, we'll talk."

James eyes widened, he swallowed hard. His throat suddenly became very dry. He followed Laura as she blazed a trail down Nathan Avenue. Obviously, she was feeling better.

A few seconds and James couldn't hold back anymore, "And if they don't like me?"

"They'll kill you."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

End chapter four.

Geh. Cults.

Those questions actually have answers. REAL CANON ANSWERS.

Because I'm enough of a dork to look up trivia.

Woo.


	5. Chapter 5

Lots of section breaks in this chapter.

**Chapter 5**

It was nearly dark when the two of them arrived at the amusement park. Sunset had a very peculiar effect on the once-quaint little lake town that normally snapped from light to dark and vice versa. The orange-red light revealed flecks of white in the fog that weren't noticeable during the day. It gave the scenery a white-noise, snowy quality that made James feel like he was caught in some horror film from the 50's.

Laura opened one of the gates that sealed off the entrance. "C'mon, I don't have all day."

"I'm getting really sick of your attitude."

"I'm getting really sick of you existing." Laura snapped back.

James scowled at her, "What is your problem?"

She didn't answer. James followed her past ticket booths, stuffed mascots, and through a rusted service entrance door to a row of gift shops. They walked side by side for a while, occasionally confronted by some abstract hell-beast that craved face-meat. Eventually, Laura fell into step behind James.

This was unsettling. Frequently, James would glance over his shoulder, or ask a question to make sure she was still there, but no matter how slow he walked, or how many times he stopped Laura stayed just out of his field of vision.

"So what's so special about this carousel?" James asked when the quiet was too much, "What's there?"

"I can't tell you. It isn't my place."

James stopped, the rusted metal paneling beneath his feet bending with his weight, "What does that mean?"

"What does it matter?" Laura said behind him, "You'll see when you get there."

He pondered the wording of that phrase for a moment, "Laura?"

There was no answer. He whirled around.

She was gone.

James smacked his palm to his forehead, "Oh, fuck me."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It took him a while to get back on track. James was just about ready to rip his hair out with frustration.

"Argh," James vented his anger on a particularly unlucky creature by kicking its disfigured dog-face to a pulp. "This better be good. Oh, this better be really good, Laura."

He wandered the amusement park for half an hour before realizing that he was lost.

"Goddammit!"

He sat on one of the benches trying to get his bearings. James could've sworn the mascot costume lying on the ground had turned its head to stare at him, but he ignored it.

The thick night fog made it difficult to see anything, but if he squinted James thought he could make out a roller coaster. Maybe if he got to the top of that structure he'd be able to find the carousel. Now he just had to get there.

He was low on bullets and more than a little unsure of the distance he still had to walk.

"Fantastic."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

He had one box of handgun bullets left by the time he climbed the stairs to the top of the roller coaster. James could only imagine what lines of this ride must've been like. A bunch of tourists and children milling on the metal stairs in the summer heat. The teenage trainee in the control booth getting dirty looks as he delayed the ride further by reading off the safety instructions. James scoffed.

The town hadn't been like that in ages. What had even made him think of that?

James shook it off and turned off his flashlight. His eyes took a couple of seconds to adjust to the dark and the distracting screech to his left didn't help, but soon he found his destination. James smiled to himself and turned his flashlight back on. It took a moment for the dark blotches to leave the edges of his vision.

The screech to his left had gotten louder. James turned-

The thing that made the noise collided with him before he ever really saw it. James's lower back collided with the railing and he tumbled over it, off the stairs.

James landed on his left shoulder blade and rolled on to his stomach. The thing that had pushed him over crashed down where he had been. It made a grating noise and thrashed about.

"Shit!" James struggled to pull himself to his feet; he was sore, but okay.

The thing lurched toward him, and James bolted.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-

When he was sure the thing from the stairs had lost interest, James stopped to catch his breath. His lungs burned, his back ached, and his left arm was a little numb. James's vision darkened for a moment.

"Jesus…"

He found a wall and leaned against it. The leaning thing didn't last long, and he slid into a sitting position.

Sitting didn't work out too well either.

James, lying on the cracked tile ground, sighed heavily filling his lungs with air, "I… am getting way too old for this."

The radio crackled ominously.

James groaned and stood; his legs shook a bit, but held him. "Where the—"

He was looking at the carousel. A gate stood between him and it, but he was there, "Well, I'll be damned," James suppressed the urge to laugh at his good fortune, lest he look like some sort of lunatic, "I made it."

James went to the gate and pulled the handle.

It didn't open.

"God DAMN IT!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--

Another forty minutes and James found another, open, gate.

He milled about for a while, nothing attacked him, nothing made noises at him, nothing happened.

"Okay, Laura! I'm here! Now what?" He scanned the area tying to find something of interest, "I swear to God, Laura if this is a prank-"

He let the threat hang in the air.

"'Bout time!"

James jumped. "Laura?! Where are you?!"

"Up here!" She waved down at him from the top of the carousel, "The high priest has agreed to test you…"

"Test me?"

"Did I stutter?" Laura scowled, "Hold on." She turned and whistled. "He's here!"

Something loud crashed in the distance and James's radio went off. His flashlight flickered.

"Laura? What did you do?"

"Good luck, asshole," and she disappeared behind the tarp. "Oh," she added, "and YOU don't get to call for help."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Laura felt a little guilty about leaving James alone with the missionaries.

Just a little.

She shrugged it off quickly, though. Laura laughed when James gasped in horror, but stopped when the gunfire started.

Too bad she hadn't told James that the missionaries were virtually bulletproof.

She laid down on the tarp that served as a roof for the ride. She picked her fingernails and listened to James run out of bullets.

"Laura!"

The girl smirked and peered over the edge, "Yes?"

James was backed into a corner, the missionaries closing in on him. He stared up at her.

"Sorry, can't help you. High priest's orders."

"Laura!" he sounded more frightened than angry.

"Sorry." She knew the sing-song tone of her voice wasn't helping his situation. She settled back into her niche in the tarp.

"LAURA!!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-===-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

James looked around, desperate for some sort of weapon. A loose pipe, a two-by-four. Something. Anything.

He cut his flashlight off and tried to squeeze between one of the monsters and the wall. It swung at him and the blade dug into James's arm, but he was more concerned with getting the fuck out of there.

His older injuries were flaring up. His right leg was buckling beneath him and he could feel the blood running down the back of his leg. He couldn't feel the fingers on his wounded hand.

"Fuck."

James fell.

The lights from the carousel weren't helping his stealth tactic.

The missionaries turned in his direction and stalked toward him. James held his breath and lay still feeling around for something in the pseudo-darkness.

_Clink Clink_

James scrambled backward, his leg was numb and his shoulder throbbed its disapproval every time he put pressure on it.

"Laura," he knew she was still on top of the carousel; she had to be, "Laura!"

"Still can't help you," she sang.

"Laura I swear to God, if I get out of this alive—" a knife swung down near his head and James decided to leave the threats for later.

If there was a later.

_Oh shit. _

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Laura watched James's sloppy retreat. It was amusing and sad.

Maybe she should help him?

Laura shook her head, she had orders to follow. James chose to come to Silent Hill, if he died, it was no skin off her nose.

Still…

"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" she sighed, shaking her head. "James!"

He glanced up at her long enough to see her toss a spear at him.

"You owe me," she called down to him.

"Fuck you!" He shouted back.

That was new. Laura watched him for a moment, and thought it was better to leave rather than help him anymore.

Maybe he'd survive.

It was more likely he wouldn't.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-==-=-=--

"I…am…going…to… fucking KILL you!"

James was furious. He was dripping blood. Some of it his, some of it not.

Laura was unfazed by the death threat, "My spear?"

He handed her the weapon, and she gave him a box of handgun bullets and a health drink.

"Missionaries are bulletproof when they can see you," Laura explained, despite that James thought the information was irrelevant after the fact, "the best thing to do is go from shadow to shadow and sneak up on them."

"Thank you for telling me this now." He was seething.

Laura laughed, "No problem. Let's just hope no one important saw me help you, otherwise we'd BOTH be in trouble."

James sighed, his weariness negating his rage, "What now?"

"The high priest is ready to meet you in the historical society building, I'll take you there."

"I know where it is."

She glared at him, "Yes and you're in top fighting condition, my apologies, I'll let you go alone."

"Don't get smart with me!"

"Or what?"

They stared at each other for some time before James caved in. "Fine… Let's go."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The walk to the historical society was uneventful by Silent Hill standards. Laura did most of the fighting and James hung back to nurse his wounds.

"So is this high priest… is he a person or…?"

Laura nodded, "Yeah, he's normal. Little crazy. But physically normal."

James was too tired for more questions.

They arrived and Laura used one of her many skeleton keys to open the door. "His name is Jeffery Leeds. We call him Ezra. You call him Sir. Understand?"

James didn't argue.

"Good." She opened the door and led him inside, locking the door behind them.

They cut through the reception area and entered one of the display rooms. James saw an all too familiar hole in the wall once they entered, but was immediately distracted.

That thing from the hospital, Gideon, Laura called it, was standing across the room. James's leg throbbed. Rows of display cases separated them but James knew that if he angered the thing, he wouldn't get to leave. It looked dramatically different up close when James wasn't running away from it.

It wasn't completely covered in bandages; huge portions of burned-looking skin were exposed. So much, in fact that it made James uncomfortable.

Clearly the creature was male.

"Mr. Sunderland," said a foreign voice, "I believe you and Gideon have already met."

Gideon huffed.

"High Priest, Ezra." Laura bowed her head.

The man she was addressing, the same man that was now approaching James, smiled at her. He was an older man, roughly James's age, his dark hair speckled with light grey, his eyes surrounded by circles darker than Laura's. He was thin and frail looking with dark glassy eyes and a crooked smile.

He held out his hand to James, "I think I remember you… you came here with your wife a few years ago, right?"

"Several actually…uh… sir." James shook the priest's hand. The strength of the other man's grip alarmed him. For a second James thought his hand would break.

The man frowned slightly at the correction, "My apologies, time is very relative here."

"I understand," James smiled weakly trying to mull the situation over, "So-"

Gideon was closer to them now, and had re-captured James's hazy focus. It looked down at him.

James swallowed hard.

"That's enough, Gideon." The man said, and the monster turned to him, "Let the man be."

Gideon huffed again.

"H-" Laura started, but Ezra cut her off and said something James couldn't hear.

Darkness engulfed James's vision; he felt himself falling. He felt something catch him. And then he felt nothing.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==--=-=-

James awoke several hours later on a cot in an unfamiliar room. Laura was sitting in a chair next to his bed, facing the door.

"The higher-ups forgave me for helping you, since you were in a weakened state when the missionaries attacked you. They said I shouldn't make a habit of it though."

"What happened?" James tried to sit up but his body demanded otherwise.

"You blacked out," Laura smiled wickedly at the door, "You're lucky Gid was there to catch you, otherwise your brains would be all over that floor."

James cringed.

He was sore and parts of his body throbbed, others burned. He felt terrible.

"You held up pretty well," Laura said, "I must admit. Ezra likes you."

James stared at her, waiting for her to finish. She never did.

A knock came to the door.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

End chapter 5.

The hiatus starts. I'll post one chapter of _Wilhelmina_ before it officially kicks off. School is going to consume so much time I won't be able to write a full chapter for… I don't know how long.

But I know updates won't be nearly as frequent as they have been. Sorry, but I'll try.

Review as you see fit.


End file.
